Plans announced for replacing Bainbridge Island police chief

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – Matt Hamner has submitted his resignation as police chief of Bainbridge Island as he prepares to follow his old boss to the southern California city of Banning.

Hamner submitted a letter of resignation to City Manager Morgan Smith on Thursday.

“I am very humbled, grateful, blessed and honored to have served this amazing city and community,” Hamner wrote, noting that his last day with the city would be Feb. 15. Hamner’s new contract, approved Tuesday night by the Banning City Council, begins Feb. 11, according to documents from that city.

In a statement announcing Hamner’s resignation, the city of Bainbridge Island said that Deputy Chief Jeff Horn will be appointed interim police chief until a replacement chief is hired. Horn has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, including more than four years with the Bainbridge Island Police Department.

The city will conduct a national search for Hamner’s replacement, it said.

In its announcement, the city praised Hamner’s time with the department, highlighting the completion of the department’s state accreditation process and an expanded emphasis on training and professional development for officers.

“Chief Hamner has helped our police department achieve a new level of professionalism, while also enhancing the department’s connection with the community, and that is an important legacy that we will continue to build on,” Smith said. “I am appreciative of his contributions during his time with the city of Bainbridge Island, and I wish him success in his future work.”

Hamner signed contract to say in June

Under Doug Schulze, Smith’s predecessor as Bainbridge’s city manager, the city moved quickly this summer in an attempt to keep Hamner from leaving after he became the top candidate for a job with the University of Colorado.

The city offered Hamner a pay bump and retention bonuses, and in June Hamner signed a contract to stay on Bainbridge Island. Two months after signing Hamner to the new deal, Schulze announced he was leaving Bainbridge for Banning, where he eventually began to recruit his old police chief.

Bainbridge’s police chief since June 2013 has been tight-lipped about the move this week as his departure became official: Hamner has not returned several requests for comment from the Kitsap Sun over the last few days.

In a statement, the Bainbridge Island Police Guild, which represents the officers of the city’s police department, thanked Hamner for his years of service and wished him and his family the best.

“The BIPG wants to express to our community that while a change is occurring, we are still committed to providing the same great level of service and dedication the community and visitors of Bainbridge Island have grown to love and expect in the past few years,” guild president William Shields wrote.

Shields wrote that the guild fully supports Horn moving into the interim chief role.

“The BIPG feels we have amazing leadership internally and we want to thank the City Manager Morgan Smith for her choice to appoint Deputy Chief Jeff Horn as the interim chief of police,” he said. “While Matt Hamner has been the known public figure for the police department for the past five years, Chief Jeff Horn’s leadership and dedicated service to the department and our community has been just as instrumental to the success we have experienced as a police department.”